The Field of the Cloth of Gold

June 7th 1520 King Henry VIII met Francis I the King of France at the Field of the Cloth of Gold near Calais.
It was a sumptuous affair lasting two weeks and each king tried to outdo each other with lavish entertainment with all their courtiers in attendance. There was so much gold cloth in the costumes and in the tents that the event the was so named. The event is depicted in the most famous painting, with the Henry arriving on a horse in grand procession. The wine fountain flows freely and there are a few people who have had a tad too much to drink I think. The wine fountain has been re-created at Hampton Court palace recently, and for a small fee, you can have some wine.

Way up in the background in the painting there are two figures in a tent, either embracing or wrestling with each other, was this the time Francis won the wrestling duel and threw our Henry?

Henry was just 28 years old at the time and a very impressive male figure, 6 foot 2 inches tall and it must have really hurt his pride to be thrown.

The whole affair was supposed to establish closer relations and friendships between the two countries, it succeeded, but only for a short while.

www.tudorhistorytours.com